This invention relates generally to a gridworks system in which a grid module formed of a network of intersecting wires is selectively combined with wire-formed shelves, racks, bins and other accessory components to create a wall-mounted storage facility of any desired capacity, and more particularly to a system of this type in which the modules are readily attached to the wall by single-headed columnar brackets and the components are connected to the module by double-head columnar couplers.
Modern industrial society is characterized by a high degree of mobility. Individuals and families no longer spend a good part of their lives in permanent dwellings but are frequently on the move. Since many wage earners in the United States are employed by large corporations with plants and officers scattered throughout the country and in some cases abroad, it is not uncommon for an employee to be transferred every two or three years to a new location. The modern American lifestyle is largely dictated by this impermanence.
Thus when a modern family occupies a new home and makes changes to accommodate the dwelling to its needs, it does so with an awareness that these changes must be transitory in character. When the time comes to move, one should be able to quickly remove whatever has been installed and transfer the installation to a new site. For example, a family entering an urban apartment would be ill-advised to install permanent cabinet shelves and other storage facilities; for when it is necessary to pull up stakes, one should be able, without difficulty, to dismantle and transfer the installation.
This mobility factor accounts for the popularity of so-called knock-down furniture; for such pieces are composed of components which can be quickly assembled and thereafter dismantled for storage or shipment in a compact state at a significantly lower cost than with conventional fixed articles of funiture.
Moreover, because of rising construction costs, modern dwellings afford relatively limited living areas and it becomes necessary to exploit available wall spaces for storage purposes. When, therefore, the kitchen cabinets in a dwelling are inadequate to store pots and pans, it is the common practice to suspend these articles by hooks from the wall. In this way, the kitchen utensils not only form part of the kitchen decor but are more readily accessible. However, the need for a large number of anchor hooks at various points in the wall presents obvious practical difficulties.
Similar problems arise in storing cosmetics and other items in a bathroom, in storing playthings in a child's room and in storing tools in a work room when the existing cabinets or shelves and other storage facilities are inadequate for this purpose.